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DANCKWARDT.- METHOD FOR msmLlNG o|L sHAL-Es.'

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 8.1920.

Eatented Oct'I 17, 1922.

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PAUL DANCKWARDT, OF DENVER, COLORAD.

METHD FOR BESTELLEN@ OIL SEMS.

Application iledl March t,

To all whom t may emwem:

Be it known that l, PAUL DANcuWAnn'r, a citizen or' the United States, residing in the city and county oil Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Methods for Distilling @il Shales; and ll do declare the :Eollovving to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference mark thereon, which form a part oit this specication.

rlhe object ot this invention is to obtain certain constituents contained in oil shales, chieily oils and ammonia, in a more economical Way than has heretofore been lmovvn.

lin processes ot this character it 1s necessary tb handle a large amount or shale to obtain a given quantity of the products, due to the fact that the percentage oi the latter is usually quite small. Apparatus Which has been used With more or less success in other countries is not valuable in this country because oi the high cost vot labor and apparatus, and the high cost of repairs and upkeep. :in order to overcome these difficulties, the process and apparatus herein disclosed have been designed in order that the labor element may be largely eliminated, While the initial cost o2? the apparatus and the cost el its repair and upkeep Will be very small.

Briedy stated, this process consists in heating a solid material which may be a part ci? the shale from which preferably the valuable ingredients have already been extracted, to a very much higher temperature than that required for the distillation ot' the shale. This heating can be most economically acomplished by direct lire in a roasting furnace of the continuous type. rlhis heated shale serves as a heat-carrier and is brought into contact with a quantity of untreated shale, Wherebysaid untreated shale is heated up to a temperature sutcient to drive out the volatile matter. rlhis volatile matter consists chiefly of oil and ammonia, the gases of which are conducted to condon sers and absorbers, and obtained therefrom in a duid state. The process is made continuous by charging continuously vinto a specially constructed still both the ravv vshale toA be treated, and the heated shale,

longer than that type of still which is heated externally. f

The roastin furnace also is heated on the inside, an in this manner the costof repairs is always low. At the same time the process in the still is-rapid, due to the intimate contact oit the heat-carrier with the raw shale. No cleaning-out of the still is reuired, thereby eliminating cooling, and rec argingand reheating of the apparatus are also avoided.

' An understanding of the details of the process Will be facilitated by reference to the accompanying drawings, which show an apparatus in which the process may be carried on. tis understood, however, that this is only one Aof several devices `which may be used successfully. f

The still comprises an upright iron shell 2, lined With ireb'rick 3. The still is closed at thetop and said top is provided vvith tvvo ducts or spouts 4f and 5. The duct l is arranged to receive heated shale or other heat-carrier from a continuous roasting furnace 6. rThe duct 5 is arranged to receive ravv shale from a belt-conveyor 7.

The material charged into the still is supported on rotating gratos 8, operated by a shalt 9, driven by means ofbevel gears 10, one of which is carried on a shalt 12, provided With a drive lpulley 14e. rthe treated material drops continually through the grates 8 and falls upon an inclined discharge chute 16. The top of the still may be supported by means or" a firebriclr part 17, resting upon an l-beam 18. A pipe 2O leads from the interior of the still at a point about half-Way up, and connects with a condensing coil 21, positioned in a condensing` tank 22, adapted to be lled With a cooling medium, such as Water. The coil 2l leads into a cooling tank 23, from which the condensed fluids may be drawn. A conduit 2a leads from the top of the tank 23 by Way of an injector 25, into an absorber 26. Steam may be supplied to the injector 25 through a pipe 125. lhe absorber 26 may be built of lead-lined steel, or ot wood.y At its up- 4 matter from the raw shale. Y

is vadjusted so that all, or nearly all, of the per end it is provided with ah outlet pipe 27', for the passage of waste gases. A pipe 28 also leads from the upper end downward to a circulating pump 29, which takes 4an absorbing fiuid from a tank 30, which receives liquid by way ol a discharge pipe 31, leading from the bottom of the absorber 26. The absorber is provided at a point slightly above ythe injector 25 with a perforated plate 32, which supports large pieces of coke or rock, over which the absorbing Huid trickles as it is discharged from the plpe 28 by the circulating pump 29.

In carryinff on the process in the apparatus above described, waste shale or rock, crushed to about one linch or less in size is heated 'to a bright redness in the roasting furnace 6, and is discharged in a continuous stream into the spout fl. This material, which generally contains some carbon, may be mixed with a small percentage of coal orcoke, which facilitates its heating and also prevents loss of heatv as it passes from the roaster to the still. This also protects the vapors and gases produced in the still Yfrom being burned by any air leaking in. This heat-carrier is discharged into the still until the latter is full. Machinery is then started which drives the grates 8, the con,- veyors 7 and the pump 29. At the same time steam is turned into the exhauster 25. The speed of the parts is so regulated that the amount of material discharged from the still is equal to that charged into it; in other words, the still alwa s remains full. The proper proportion ot heat-carrier to raw shale must be watched, this being .such that the heat introduced through the medium of the heat-carrier is slightly in excess of that required to drive off yall the 'volatile The exhauster gas and vapor .generated in the still is withdrawn through the pipel 20. At the same time it is necessary to take care that no air gets into the still through any of the openlngs, either at the to or bottom, since the economic recovery o the valuable va' porsA depends upon this precaution.

The cooling-medium in tank 22 must be replaced continuousl so that all of the'oil vapors, and most o the water vapors are ,condensed i-n the coil 21 and'liow into the collecting tank 23. The gases and uncondensed vapors are continually drawn' od by the injector 25, and forced' through the mass of coke or rock in the absorber 26.l

The pump 29 circulates dilutesuluric acid, or other sultable absorbing fluid, and ammonia, takmg it from the tank 30 and discharging it into the upper end of` the absorber 26. As the condensed vapors contain. all the ammonia not lcondensed in the tank 23, the ammonia is absorbed by the downwardly moving dilute acid as it lasses through the coke. ammonium sulfate is withdrawn from the tank 30 as it becomes saturated, and fresh acid is supplied from time to time.

The water and oil in the tank 23 are withdrawn and separated as required.

Ilrom the foregoing, it willbe seen that The resulting solu onof there are no separatey o erations in carrylowino the two portions to mix, wherebyy heat 1s transferred to the raw shale suiiicient to drive oil all the volatile matter, condensin the latter, and withdrawing the waste sha e continually from the still.

2. The process of distilling oil shale which consists in uninterruptedly `charging raw shale into a still, introducing a continuous stream of heated waste shale, :thereby causirg the volatile oil and ammonia. to distil o discharging the shale-deprived of its oil and ammonia, withdrawing the volatile constituents from the center of the still, and condensing them.

3. The process of distilling oil shale, which consists in passing reviously-heated waste shale and raw shale Ey gravity, continuously through an upright still open at top' and bottom, the material entering at the top and passing outv at the bottom, allowing the volatile vapors to esca e through an, opening centrally between inlet and outlet, and condensing them.-

4. The process of distillin oil shale, which consists in heating waste s ale and carbon, transferring the red-hot product in ai continuous stream into a still, introducing a continuous stream of raw shale into the still to mix with said heated shale, withdrawing the mixed material from' the still and the volatile constituents from a point near the center of the still, and condensing the latter.

' 5. The'proce'ss of distillind oil shale whichair from passing into the apparatusfrom outside the still and also to prevent-vapors or gases formed inside the still from passing out -of it into the air, and condensing theI n testni'onyw creo a x my. signa ure.

, PA DANGARUT. 

